Myanmar Feb 2016
Lake Inle
Boat Tour Part 1
24 Feb 1016
This was a
full day tour of Inle Lake. We visited historical
sites, local markets, floating gardens, villages on stilts, monasteries and to appreciate the lake ecosystem and how the people make their livelihood on the lake. The guide and boatman met us at the hotel and walked us to
the jetty. It was just 2 of us.
(this photo is iconic of an Intha fisherman of Lake Inle)
The boatman
readied the boat for us at the jetty.
The boat
cruised down the Nyaung Shwe Canal to enter the Lake.Inle
Entering
the lake early in the morning, we saw the Intha fisherman.
Local fishermen are
known for practicing a distinctive rowing style which involves standing at the
stern on one leg and wrapping the other leg around the oar. This unique style
evolved out of necessity as the lake is covered by reeds and floating plants,
making it difficult to see above them while sitting. Standing provides the
rower with a view beyond the reeds. However, the leg rowing style is only
practiced by the men. Women row in the customary style, using the oar with
their hands, sitting cross legged at the stern. (Wikipedia)
Villages along the shores
and houses on stilts
Next we visited one of the
“5 Day Market” after one hour boat ride. It was really bustling with boats
creating a “jam” around the pier. This was Nam Pan Market about 2/3 way south
of the lake. In this market, there were amazing varieties of food, almost anything edible were sold here.
Vegetables, meat and
fishes from the lake
The distinctive local minority ethnic people in their traditional dresses congregated here to sell their
wares and made purchases
Beside food, house
accessories were plentiful in display.
A lots of handicrafts for
tourists too.
There were also local
cooked food stalls.
After Nan
Pan Market, we proceeded to visit a handicraft shop that uses lotus leave to weaved to make cloth and bags. This was a tourist stop.
The boat
turned around and headed westward through a canal for Shwe Inn Dein Pagoda.
Along the way, saw more villages and the local people and passed by some
floating gardens. The canals stretch miles inland and are a major
transportation mode around the lake.
Passing
Alodaw Pauk Pagodas
Shwe Indein
Pagoda is a group of ancient Buddhist pagodas in the village of Indein, west of
Lake Inle. The pagodas came in various shapes and sizes and in various state of
preservation. Our boatman skillfully navigated this 8 km long narrow canal to
reach Indein. The Pa-Oh people live in the surrounding hills.
Village
behind the pagodas
We had
lunch around this area and our next itinerary was a visit to a wine distillery nearby
The tour
guide brought us to a nearby hill top with a panoramic view of a village. The
view of green farm, farm animal, canals with moving boats and a cluster of
pagodas.
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